


Friends

by Not_You



Series: It's Weird When Shaw Is Nice [13]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Altered Mental States, Best Friends, Children, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Puppy Love, toy ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 03:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're going to get married when they grow up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends

Azari is David's very favorite person. He's squishy and good at hugs and can run fast, and he doesn't mind when he can't see the things David does. He's pretty, too. He's the color of the good black earth that the people turn up every spring and everything about him is round. He has what King T'Challa says are panther eyes, and they look like gold coins in his black face. He can't see in the dark, but he'll be able to later. David doesn't tell him, though. People don't like knowing things ahead of time. Right now they're in the baths with Mother and Erik, giggling and splashing each other. Mother is still wearing his present from Azari's mother, and looks even more beautiful than he usually does. Jeweled headdresses are a Wakanda fashion, but it suits Mother very well and the gems match his eyes.

"Less splashing, boys," Erik murmurs. David's second mother can be very irritable, but never in the bath. David giggles at how much he looks like the kitchen cat when it lazes under the stove in winter, and Erik just smiles, reaching out to him. David swims over and collects his cuddles, giggling again as Erik kisses his streaks because it tickles. Azari swims over to Charles to examine his headdress more closely. Azari loves anything shiny, and he says David's streaks are pretty.

"I helped Mother pick it out," Azari says, and Mother smiles.

"You have good taste, little one."

Azari beams, and tells Mother about some of his jewels. Wakandas like pretty things, so Azari already has a lot even though he's a regular boy and not a special one like David. David is glad to be what he is, because he likes pretty things and he can already tell that Pietro isn't going to have as many. Mother hums, and tows David around the bath. He stares up at the ceiling, all hung with deep red tapestry. It's a warm color, soothing like the glow of embers.

David goes away for a while, like he does sometimes. Well, not really away. His body is still here with Erik and Mother and Azari, and that means more than grownups seem to think. His hands in Erik's and the warm water and Mother's and Azari's voices are all very important. But he's also Out, the place where the dreams and gods and dead people live. He likes being Out, but he knows that Erik is scared he won't come back, so he tries not to stay _too_ long, even if it is awfully interesting. This time he finds one of Father's little gods, a steam spirit that's warm and friendly and teaches him about the shape of water, three tiny pieces forming a triangle.

"David? David, come back to us, little one."

He blinks, and smiles up at Erik. "He didn't go far," Azari says, swimming over and kissing David's cheek to welcome him back. "Just to the ceiling."

Erik laughs. "Well. I suppose that's all right, then."

It's time to get out now, so they do, and when everyone's dry Mother of course wants to go see the twins again because they're tiny and new and sometimes just gone in an instant, like those pretty ghost babies in the other house. David and Azari both like the twins, but Mother and Erik could just look down at them all day, and David prefers a more active program. So he shows Azari how to climb on the lower roofs, and Azari gives him a little wooden animal that looks a bit like a donkey but is called an okapi, and is good luck. There's a tiny little wood god in it, and it likes David. After that they go to the kitchens and get egg and honey tarts and then get Azazel to let them into the armory so they can look at the weapons and listen to Azazel talk about the difference between Wakanda and northland weaponry. When they're finished with that they go to the room where Father keeps art from other places, and when David climbs into the big basket from the country he can't pronounce, Azari says he's seen ones that look like it in Wakanda, and that people use them to carry snakes. He gets in, too, and they pretend to be quiet, milk-fed snakes.

Sebastian chuckles, looking down at the two boys tangled up together in the bottom of the basket, sleepy little mirror images of each other. "I know you were noising about Azari and Anya…"

T'Challa smiles. "I will absolutely accept a bearing son. My grandmother was a man, you know."

"Ah, yes. I had forgotten, he excelled so much in women's magic."

"Quite understandable." He reaches down and carefully lifts his son, who opens big golden eyes and struggles a bit at being taken from David. T'Challa hushes him as Sebastian collects David and a little wooden trinket that is presumably of immense importance. David reaches out fretfully, and calms when his flailing hand touches Azari's foot. Sebastian shakes his head, amazed and amused in equal measure.

"I suppose we should put them in David's bed?"

"Of course. We don't need them wandering all over the place looking for each other."


End file.
